GO Love Yourself
by tikustido
Summary: A crossover sequel to Sally Ratmousen where Sally started playing a new mobile game that is on the hype called Pokemon GO! What will Sally face this time? Rated K Plus for very mild violence, unintended innuendos and depressing content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Pick Your Game

**Hey, everyone, it's me again! It's time for a sequel of Sally Ratmousen and I present you, GO Love Yourself! It is mostly about Pokemon GO, and that it's mostly based on the experience of playing the game with my dad (yes, you heard it, my dad). Without wasting time, let's dive into the story!**

* * *

I woke up like usual at 8 and then got myself ready for an optional half-day work at the Daily Rat. It's not as big as the Rodent's Gazette if you want to compare the base, but many younger people read it for some cool stuff on entertainment and gossips (yes, it was, because too old do not want, alright?). After I had my breakfast, I got to my favorite kawaii magenta Subaru BRZ (which I forgot to tell you last time that I fitted it with Rocket Bunny bodykit and I had it well-tuned to 400 hp) and get to work. Traffic is always busy like most of the time, and once I reached there, I got to my office.

But today, things weren't just like any usual day like what you would see in an office where there's a fair share of fun and work. My colleagues are now talking about one game that hit Mouse Island like an earthquake and spreads like a virus. You know what game I am talking about: Pokemon GO. I checked the date on my phone: it was August 6th, which means that the game is released today. Yes, I knew about the release. But I don't see anything too interesting yet because ain't nobody got time for it when you had something much better than that. And then, I saw my assistant, Simon Squealer at the corner of the cubicles, not talking about Pokemon GO. He was instead playing Pirate Kings, which I seem to dislike flat out. Not only that it's sort of grindy because all you do is just spin, attack, spin, reap some money from some random guys, spin until you really ran out of spins and that's it. I also don't honestly like the mechanics of the game as well. I used to play the game before someone chiseled me off by attacking my island in just hours. Heck, weren't things supposed to just that easy just because it's the way it was made to be and look like at our eyes? But after all, freemium is pay-to-win. You can't just do well if you don't pay at all. Thinking that maybe I could convince him to talk about the hype and the hit, I approached him.

"Hey, Simon, why didn't you join in the discussion? It's rather crowded and interesting there," I asked him.

"Uh... I love this game more than Pokemon GO. Catching some sort of monsters around can't beat the fun of playing things that simple like spinning the wheel and swiping at candies."

I was rather shocked by his response because like I told you, I flat out dislike Pirate Kings and also Candy Crush. With nothing else to say, I told him, "Okay. You can join in anytime you want."

Back inside my office, I thought of why Pokemon GO is so popular. I mean, it's just a game. What's so good about it? Besides, I already have a Husky to walk every day. Why bother playing it? But anyways, I decided to go and install Pokemon GO. Maybe it would be a good idea to jump on the hype express and besides, what could go wrong if I ever join in the train? Once I installed that app, I was greeted with a welcome screen, and then I created my Pokemon GO account.

"What should I name my nickname there as? TehBoredBunny? MagentaTheRicer? Oh, I know what to put! xXxSallyRatmousen420xXx! I bet this would be great."

After getting things ready, I am now ready for the game. I was taught of how to play the game. It looked simple: you get the Pokeball (a special ball which allows you to catch Pokemons which are fictional creatures/animal) on-screen and throw it by swiping. And bang bang, you got one Pokemon on the collection and then you will get some nice XP, like, 100 XP? I got up to level 3 easily.

And there, I thought it would be a good idea to just walk to the nearest Pokestop: which is a place where you can get stuff like Pokeballs, potions, eggs and everything that you could name of. After all, this game is supposed to be a game where you walk a lot and get to lots of Pokestops. I asked myself, "Is there one and where was it?". Found out that it's just right at my office. On the other side, I saw another Pokestop, which is the Rodent's Gazette. I decided to go there and get some stuff. Right after I tried to spin that photo circle, which gets you the stuff I mentioned just now, someone who I really know came out from the place. He is dressed in green, like always. You know who was him; Geronimo Stilton. But I think he didn't look like what I usually see him as. Not that expression in his face, though, he wouldn't look any angry unless I stroked him up too much (which I don't need to tell you). He is not in his usual green three-piece suit, and this time, he is wearing a business suit with his green coat open, a brown belt and like always, he always wear a red-colored necktie. Bummer, why did he do so? That kinda made me feel a little confused that way but never mind already. He had a bigger issue with mobs with their phones on their palms on their hands (and obviously mine as well *lenny face*).

"Why was everyone swarming this place today? Is there anything that is going to happen today? Like, maybe a protest or a mob?"

"Everyone's on Pokemon Go. Including me," I replied.

"Pokey what?" he asked me for a clarification. Bet he haven't heard of Pokemon before.

"Pokemon Go. Never heard of it?" I told him.

You see, I don't think he knew anything about Pokemon, let alone video games. He never played any video games before and like I said when I associate tech and Geronimo, he didn't know how to use iOS or Mac OS very well. Don't need to ask me why. Oh wait, probably the only thing he knew was doing word processing and going to the Internet to find anything necessary. There. What else could I offend Stilton with? Profanities? I don't think so since I don't really use them as much I would do in the past. Yes, you should look at my previous book if you really feel like ready for those over-the-top profanities.

"No. What's the fuss with the game? Is there anything that would appeal me?"

"Yeah, you catch monsters by throwing specially-designed balls. But anyways, I thought as a newspaper editor yourself, you know what is Pokemon GO?"

"Uh... I didn't know a lot about it and I am not feeling really bothered to even know how the game works, though. I would rather read books right at my home than play a game that everyone is on the craze on. You know I love my home a lot."

"Oh. Okay, phone me when you feel like starting the game. I will help you out with that," I told him before going back to my office.

* * *

Back in my office, I check my phone to find that my phone battery has run quite flat. Yes, it was just 12 and my phone has gone right from 100% to about 50%, which is way too fast. If I keep using it... I think my phone will be all dead. But since it's Saturday today, and it's a half-day work, I get to go home. Yay, that means that I can charge my phone! Quickly, I got home.


	2. Chapter 2: We Go

Right after I came back from office at home, I saw my homie, Carl playing with my Husky, Emily. Yes, I admit, he loves Emily well a lot that he want to caress her.

"Yo, ma homie, you heard of that new game called Pokemon GO? All my homies are on it," he asked.

"Already heard it, Carl," I said as I sat on the sofa.

"Oh. Thought you haven't heard of that game. You had been busy writing some stuff for your newspaper as your occupation."

"You sure? I think you would rather catch a Squirtle over playing with my Husky," I joked around.

"Nah, I would be out there by then. Alright, Sally, catch ya later," Carl told me before he left my home.

After he left my home, I cooked myself some lunch. Today, I cooked myself some lasagna and it does turn out well enough. I do doubt a little of my skills on cooking sometimes, especially if anyone who is rather particular about taste wanted me to cook something. But anyway, I like how I cook my stuff. It's a little crazy at times, but then it should at least be edible in such a way that it wouldn't be too gross. And then, someone knocked on the door.

"Yeah, who was it?" I asked.

"It's your brother."

I quickly went and opened the door. And yes, I forgot to tell you who is my brother (in case you really didn't know him). He is Sam Ratmousen, a correspondent for the Gentleman Monthly. When I first met him in those 5 years (because of work and obviously escaping from my cruel parents, which I couldn't at that time), he did adopt a **rather** heavy British accent, which I don't simply like it because it's just that fake. I mean, he looked like a stereotypical British gentleman. You don't really look like yourself if you do adopt a different accent or impersonate someone else just for the sake of fitting in. Although maybe my words can be a little hypocritical at times with the given past that I show my might in an extravagant way. Getting back to the thing, he does wear what a gentleman usually wear (most notably he was seen in morning suit with a purple necktie) and behave like one (which might also explain why he did leave our parents because of the fact that he couldn't stand becoming a cruel guy like Mr. Edward Hyde, although his act would be a little cowardly and slightly disrespectful towards our parents, that is), but he didn't adopt that accent as much as he would back then.

"How's your day?" I asked.

"Fine. Had a little chat on something today."

"What? Another gentleman to talk with? Pokemon GO?" I asked, hoping that he would respond me with the first one. He doesn't usually just jump on the hype train before he knew about it.

"We were talking about Pokemon GO," he said. That struck me hard because he would talk about work and gentleman stuff and not video games, right?

"Oh. Thought you wouldn't talk about it."

"Why did you say so?"

"You don't talk about video games. Hope it doesn't offend you," I told him because he could be sometimes sensitive towards some topics.

"It's okay. I don't really know about the game at all."

"So you playing it?" I asked.

"Haven't started playing the game yet, and I don't feel like it right now. You know what you said just now."

"Uh... okay. I'm going to see my friends later at the beach."

At 3, I went to the beach and met my friends there. They wanted to really talk to me about something very interesting.

"Hey, Sally! Come and sit beside the bar," they called me from the bar.

"One fruit punch please!" I ordered.

"So, Sally, are you going to the Olympics?" Lenore, one of the guys there, asked me about it.

And yes, I really didn't realize that the Olympics had started. I am not sure, but one of the journalists on the newspaper, Darren, is going to cover the first week of the Olympics. And I will be covering the second week.

"I am going there this next Friday," I replied.

"Oh, I see. By the way, have you played Pokemon GO yet?" Stella asked me.

"Of course I did! You know that I play video games often," I told her.

"So... you are going to get some Pokemon together with us later?"

"Sure."

After we finished our drinks, we went around to find Pokestop, Pokemons, and Gyms (which is a place where you battle bosses and not the place to buff up). And then, I saw a familiar man in green walking around. It was Geronimo, in all obviousness. He's on some sort of Pokepace: which is the incredibly slow speed when playing Pokemon GO. Or maybe that's a little faster. Anyway, that being said, he is playing it. Why did he lie to me about not interested in playing this game? And then I realized that he had a nephew called Benjamin. He's a 12-year-old geek, and probably he asked him to play this game. Still, not going to phone him yet. Let him do his job. Doesn't mean to ignore him, tho, since he called for a truce months ago. Whatever it is, he might be calling me right now. Which proved to be true.

"Erm... I have to answer a call right now. Don't worry, I will be back," I told them before I went and find Stilton.

"Yeah, G, it's Sally here. Are you calling me to help you with Pokemon GO?"

"Yes, and also, where are you right now? I heard some doves flying around you."

"If you hear me talking behind your back, then you know I am behind you."

He looked back and found out that it's me.

"Uh! You almost made my heart blow out!" he shouted at me as he hung up the phone call.

"Yeah, you didn't know that I was there. And yes, what's the matter?"

"How do I get the balls?"

"Go to the nearest Pokestop."

"Pokestop?"

"See the levitating cube on your screen? When you go near it, it should change to something else."

"Oh. I will call you back if I need to," he told me before he went to a Pokestop.

Once I got back to them, they ask me about where I was just now. I told them I was meeting someone.

"You must be meeting Geronimo," Lenore said. Geronimo is really **that** popular, and I used to be that jealous of his popularity.

"Um... yeah. What are you all thinking of me?"

"We thought you hated him," Stella told me.

"Yes, but that's the past. We are now friends."

Once I arrived back home at 5, Sam was already out. He would be usually out for a dinner, and most of the time, he did so because he had something to discuss with friends about work. Not because he dislike my cooking or that he favors other people's cooking, alright? And then, my phone rang. It was Joosep, a co-worker in my newspaper.

"Yo, Sally, having the mood to party right now?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think I would be okay being drunk." When he mentioned party, he would usually ask me to go to a nightclub, which wouldn't be a good idea for a woman who prefer being sober like me.

"You free for a night race?"

"Yeah, but...," I was about to tell him that I don't want to land into another trouble with the cops. The cops here would be relentless and most of them wouldn't accept any form of bribery, no matter how much you would give them.

"This place will be cop-free since it's a sanctioned race. Come on, you wanna race?"

"Um... alright. Send me the address."

"Okay, see you soon."

After I hung up, he sent me the address. It was at my local multipurpose race track near the beach, which should be free from the cops. Quickly, I fired up my BRZ and get there.


	3. Chapter 3: You Are Yourself

**Hey everyone, it's me again. I am publishing this long chapter a little early because it's already mid-semester holiday for me. Yes, it is. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

After I arrived at the race track, Joosep greeted me and asked me to register my details on the form at the registration counter. The race will start at about 8 pm, which means that there is 2 hours away from the race. During that time, I went and tune the car a little. The exhaust note was rather great, which should be definitive of the class I am entering: the tuner class. Go check out my first book: you know what I am talking about. Just as a summary if you feel like reading my last one was too extreme to your delicate eyes: the tuner class is for those who got the guts to drive. The others don't look as gorgeous to me, tho, because kittens don't tune their horseys.

When it was 45 minutes to the event, someone came with a green Nissan 370Z NISMO. The exhaust note wasn't like the 370Z I last saw him with during the one last street race. It went rather close with the Lamborghini Huracan, albeit a little tamer. And then, two people got out from the car. It was Geronimo again, but now with his sister, Thea. To be honest, I find his sister too skillful in almost everything back I hated him very much. I mean seriously, she also has a very attractive appeal to everyone, especially those handsome men out there for her beauty and skills. They really got **excited** when they see her, and I am really jealous of her as well. I think she must be the one who tuned the 370Z.

"Hi, Sally. It's a good time to probably race, right?" Thea greeted me as if she didn't recall me calling an offensive term a few months back. Seriously?

"Yeah. You going to race?" I asked.

"Yes... but not me. That guy beside me is going to drive the car," she said as she poked her finger on Stilton's shoulder.

"Come on, sister, I can't be driving it very fast. You know that I dislike driving at high speeds," Geronimo told her.

"But brother, didn't you like some to have nice tasty cheese after the race? I know your mouth is starting to salivate in eagerness."

And then, another argument between Geronimo and Thea ensues. He is usually a sissy if you ask me or anyone who knows him a lot, and most of the time when the argument between them is about getting into an adventure, Thea always win thanks to her appeal, like I said just now. And yes, obviously you know who will race this time. Don't need to ask me why, since you have already read it (which is unless you are high on drugs or you don't understand me).

* * *

When the race is about to start, I lined my car at the 4th spot. Stilton was at the 11th spot, which is the second last spot. I started to talk on the walkie-talkie.

"Hey, G, you ready?"

"Uh... not really?"

"No wonder why people would call you a kitten for that."

"I am going to prove it anyways. Maybe you might as well call me one, but I will try to not be one."

"You said it. Get ready."

As the lights started flashing, I turned on my engine, putting it into first gear and getting ready by revving my engine. By the time they went green, I stepped hard on the accelerator. The cars start the race by going through the uphill kink and then to a very wide turn. Along the lap, there are three bus stop corners. It was an easy track for anyone to race at, but it's a little hard to master it even you are just as good as professional F1 driver. As I finished the first lap of the 10-lap race, I looked at my rear view mirror. Stilton was really far behind the pack, which is quite expected since he's no good at it. There are only a few cars to overtake before I could get the lead. But then, as we end the fifth lap, things started to change. The roar of the 370Z was heard right behind me. Yes, it was about 20 yards away from me and I sensed that his car was already getting to me. I saw only one car to actually overtake: a black Toyota Supra JZA80. It's one of the most feared JDM car in motorsports because of its success.

"Come on already...," I muttered as the 370Z was about to overtake me right when I tried to slipstream the Supra.

I was so focused on trying to overtake the Supra that I forgot about the corner right about 200 yards away from me. When it goes to about 80 yards, I realized it and braked. The toned down traction control doesn't seem to work any better for me as it skidded on the road. I struggled to get it back on control and when I finally got it back on track, I am already in 4th, two places down! I had only four laps to work my way back up to the 370Z to chase the Supra by overtaking the R34 first. I knew that at this point, pushing the boxer engine to the max is really needed to win, but knowing that I might blow the engine up if I overdo it like how it happened when I entered my first legal race, I plan to do it on the last lap instead. It was quite hard, but I managed to get to 3rd by the last two laps. There's so much that I can do during that time.

On the final lap, I did what I decided to do; load the engine up to the max. The 400 hp engine seem to fare well and probably even better than expected. It was a close fight towards the end of the race, as my car kept closing the gap and falling back thanks to the Supra. In the end, Stilton's 370Z placed first and I ended up being in third. I would have raged away if I was still hatin' Geronimo, but that's because I took it a little too personal back then. And then, the Supra driver (who is a Japanese) went and meet me. I think I saw him before a long time ago, like maybe 10 years ago, but do I even remember him? Maybe not if I didn't have that class picture with me.

"Hey, Sally, it's me, Sawada. I was in the same class with you back in high school. Didn't you remember me?" he asked me.

"Uh... no? I haven't met you in like 12 years."

"Duh, you didn't recognize me? We used to play basketball together at the basketball court after school. Don't you remember that?"

Okay, okay, don't get me wrong. You might say that girls shouldn't participate in basketball just because it is a male-dominated event, but I used to play basketball a lot until I got to college. Which you know that's why I have been really vying to interview Bounce Ballmouse so much that I even had Stilton to be my Pokemon to interview him *****. Yes I did, yes I did. That being said, I gave him 12 hours flat to do so to get back his house before I make his house into "something better" and I threw my Pokeball to him to be my Pokemon... forever. Thought that it would be impossible because Bounce wouldn't kiss your boots no matter what. Turned out that he actually did, and I had to give back his house and get rekt like always whenever I ever try to end a vendetta. Go read some of Stilton's past adventures, you might as well find me trying to humiliate Stilton in many ways. You know that I do also suit to be a drag king as well, and bet you won't regret looking at me acting like a male. But heck, he must be so attached to his house a lot like a tortoise inside its shell. Yes, he treats his house like a turtle's shell *****. Maybe someone should depict me as a bunny if anything that associates with the story "The Hare and The Tortoise" happens because rabbit and tortoise don't usually go well together, right? You know the past. But anyways, it's his house, so do you even need to ask me why I offered back his house back then? Oh wait, I did mention it.

"Yeah, I think we did. That was the best memory I could ever think of."

* * *

I invited him to my house later and he did agree to do so. I am just a little worried tho, because when I ask anyone suspicious like Sawada to come to my house at night, things can get awry when my brother is at home. He is rather sensitive towards anyone who he didn't know well and who he wouldn't be comfortable to meet with. Maybe he was scared of strangers? We did talk about life and work. Turns out that he is Carl's friend, and he works as a mechanic. And then, someone opened the door and was shouting.

"Where were you, Sally?" he shouted. I recognized him; it was Sam, and he was back from dinner! How did he get home that early? But someway, somehow, I don't think I will need to hide it anyways. He opened the door and saw both of us on the bed. He might have thought that we are going to make some bedroom rodeo. But there's no way we would have ever done it because we weren't really married yet!

"Sally, who was that man? Was he your boyfriend? What is he trying to do to you?"

"No way that he is my boyfriend. He is my high school friend. We were just talking about life." Sam was already confused to utter a word.

"Anyway, Sawada, here's my brother, Sam. He wouldn't really welcome strangers in."

Sawada then took his hand, most likely asking Sam for a handshake. Sam does seem to reluctantly shook his hand with him because he is a stranger but anyway he accepted it. He later introduced himself, and we talked until when he thought of getting back home. By the time he went out, it was already 9:30 pm. Would be a little too late to go out at that time.

"It seemed like that you had quite some friends at high school. You would have been happy if our parents did allow you to meet your friends, wasn't it? Can't see why our parents were too biased against you. Maybe it's the problem of you being adopted," Sam told me.

"Yeah. Maybe if they don't make me feel that bad in the past then I wouldn't balloon in size like..."

"You are not going to say that you are going to be **that** dictator?"

"I was about to say that. Why did you spoil it?"

"I was afraid you would say the wrong thing. People nowadays could get really sensitive over something like this," he said.

I am not sure, but things don't sometimes do well if I mention the wrong thing. I mean, mention one wrong word and get executed by another country for that. That's already too seditious for that. But anyways, I went to sleep and thought of going to the Olympics next week. I mean, we are going to cover the Olympics, right? Things would be very exciting there, and maybe with some added drama into it. But the only worry which I thought of was that someone might cheat in the event. Just like what happened 8 years ago and it all spoiled the fun. And also, the concern of anyone getting Zika virus was there. Still, I am excited for that, and I bet Geronimo will go there as well. Let's see how it will turn out this time. I bet both of us won't regret it.

* * *

 ***** Refer to Geronimo Stilton #61: Mouse House Hunter.


	4. Chapter 4: Out of the Field

I woke up the next day and thought of something. Yes, the appointment with Simon. We are going to discuss the plans at the Olympics. He said that we will meet at 9 at the cafe. I checked the clock that it was already 8. That's a perfect time to get up and getting myself ready for today.

Right after I arrived at the cafe, I saw him outside the building, sitting beside a table. Like again, you know what he is playing. The most deceivingly easy and annoyingly hard game of all; Pirate Kings. I mean, what else you could expect him to even play? I wanted to say, "That game again," to him because it's just plain nothing, but I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, that's a little too oppressive. I had really been too oppressive in the past, okay? I sat on a chair towards him, and he seemed to not care. Bet I had enough with it already.

"You playing that game again?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's the best game ever," he replied.

"No wonder why it's a little easy for me to bully you for that. Anyway, let's order our breakfast. You wanted to discuss the plan at the Olympics with me, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled a little as he put his phone down.

As we talked about the plan, Simon told me that we will have to depart from New Mouse City to Rio at 11 pm this Thursday. I mean, 20 hours; that's a long time for a flight. What we also found out is that we are going to stay at a hotel near the Olympic Village; because there are way too many problems there and no one would like these to happen. I can name a few: plumbing problems, bugs and unpleasant smell.

After having my breakfast, I started up my Pokemon Go and started walking around the cafe and to my office, where I placed my car at. I caught quite some Pokemons on the way, and probably I should go to a gym near me; I haven't done any battle with anyone.

And yes, I forgot to tell you all that I am on Team Instinct. The name... kinda felt like I use my own sense in many things. The next minute there... I got myself being bullied thanks to the powerful Pokemons. A few that I could name of are Pinsir, Exeggutor, Gyrados and Dragonite: they are really powerful indeed. I think I better climb up the ladder already because like I told you, my current Pokemon is too weak to get head-to-head with any other Pokemon.

* * *

That evening, I got to a park near me. People said that there are tons of Pokestops and Pokemons there. Besides, this place is suitable for running, so I get to kill a few more birds with one stone by hatching eggs. I went there with Geronimo, who agreed to go there with me because he thought of going there.

A few hours have passed from then. I did catch a lot of Psyducks and Magikarp; a very useless Pokemon but once evolved, it becomes a very powerful Pokemon. Yes, it can be evolved to Gyrados, but you will need 400 of these candies (and by the way, you get candies of a certain Pokemon by catching and transferring Pokemons or hatching eggs) to do so. Of course, I thought of asking what team is Stilton once we're finished, because why not? There wouldn't be any nuclear explosion by asking anyone unless you said the wrong thing.

"What team are you in? I am on Team Instinct," I asked him in the car on the way to dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

"I am on Team Mystic. Why did you ask me this question?"

"Nothing. Thought that you are on Team Valor."

* * *

After having dinner there, I send him back to his house. But on the way there, I went and stray away from the course of the road because there are many Pokestops there, which Stilton didn't seem to like it at all. He really wanted to go home already. But I don't care. Instead, I went around for a few times, which again, he doesn't like. Finally, he voiced out his concern.

"Uh... Sally? What are you doing there circling around?"

"I am going to get some more Pokeballs."

"Does it even matter to me? I really want to go back home and read books."

I didn't reply him at all. Let him wallow in his thoughts.

"For God's sake, get me back home already!" he shouted at me.

Well, what could I do? I got to Stilton's home, dropped him there, and that's it without any proper goodbye. Again, I went and circle around and by the time I returned home, it was already 8; an hour late from the time I was supposed to be home. My brother was already furious over this.

"Sally, why were you late this time? You weren't that late before," Sam asked.

With no other ways to even trick my brother (he is really smart and intelligent at deducing lies, no kidding), I went all clean and told him, "I was catching Pokemons just now."

"But even then, were you supposed to be that late? You are already late for one whole hour. Do you think there is a good reason to be late this way? **NO!** " he scolded me before shouting at the top of his lungs.

I couldn't reply him with anything at all because I was too scared to reply him. It's Stilton scolding me just now, and now my brother?

"You know what? I am not going to talk to you anymore since you would have your phone as your husband," he told me before going up and locking himself inside his room.

Well? I wouldn't care a lot about him anyways. After all, he's kinda looked fake in many ways I see possible. I decided that I would forget about it by playing on my PS4. But it was hard to forget any bad memories at all after getting a bad hit. I went to sleep earlier than expected and hope for the best tomorrow. Maybe Sam might forgive me. He is usually more forgiving than his other "twin", Willie. But what if he didn't? Maybe it's probably for the better.

* * *

 **I'm sorry if I am uploading it very late, but recently things make me do my story slower than usual. I had a real lack of ideas right now but don't worry, I will release the next chapter faster since I had exam starting next week. Until then, see ya.**


	5. Chapter 5: Second Glance

Over the course of the whole week, Sam didn't really talk to me. He only wrote the important notes on Post-ITs which he posted on the fridge door, which I find it a little hard to read and comprehend his handwriting because he is a left-handed and he always wrote in cursive. Like I said, he looked like a stereotypical British gentleman in many ways possible. Also, I didn't talk with Geronimo as much I would have talked with him. With the given fact that I had enough of it, I will have to apologize to them because I did it, right? Turned out both did forgive me, but I really had to stop playing it too much to avoid some really big trouble. They might not forgive me after all.

That Thursday, after finishing work at 4:30 pm, I thought of playing Pokemon GO. I mean, what could actually go wrong if I play it? But then, I realized that with quite some road accidents happening recently, I think I should just forget it for now. Added with the fact that I got blasted by some people already. Maybe I would be better off playing it at Rio. So what I need to do is buy a roaming plan (which shouldn't cost me relatively too much), which I did at home. And then, when I was about to leave at 8:30 pm, someone called me.

"Yeah, Sally here. Who are you and what do you want?" I asked.

"Can we meet up at the cafe?"

"Dude, seriously, I am going to leave by airplane at 11. And who are you by the way?"

"I am Sam's friend. We will meet at the airport then, right?"

"Yeah, you heard it. Leaving now. See ya."

Once I got to the airport, I saw a guy wearing a pale blue turtleneck standing by a snack booth. He wasn't that young compared to Sam but never mind, it all doesn't matter.

"So what do you want?" I asked.

"Sally, your brother couldn't get home tonight."

"So why don't you at least tell me on the phone if he can't make a phone call?"

"He wants to send you this," he said while giving me a letter. It read:

"Hi Sally,

I can't be home tonight because I really had quite some work to do. Wish you luck covering the Rio Olympics.

Your brother,"

Sam"

"Dude, he would have called me on the phone. You know it's a waste of our time that way."

"I know it, but your brother doesn't like to text you or maybe call you on the phone. He does look pretty much like a stereotypical British gentleman and I think he won't really change. You know he is a dandy. Sometimes he got really caught up with things like this."

"Oh, okay. Had to do some business right now. See ya," I said before I left for the flight.

Later, I met up with Simon at the lounge. I saw him sitting on a bench playing a real Chinese rip-off of Pirate Kings- Piggy Boom! Not this time already! Pirate Kings is already bad and now he's playing something that is more or less worse than Pirate Kings? I would have gladly thrown out his phone out of the window if I was given a choice to do so. You know I had enough of it for playing a game that only last for maybe no longer than two plays at the video arcade. Yes, I knew it based on my experience. And then, an announcement was made.

"Attention to passengers for the flight to Rio de Janeiro; please move to gate 5."

Well? We moved there and then there are some checks on the luggage and sanitization pre-flight: Zika is really that bad in general. And then, we got to our seats at the back of the aircraft. Again, he's still on Piggy Boom.

"Dude, can't you get enough of this boring rip-off?" I asked. He didn't reply.

"Seriously, who in the world will play this swine pirate rip-off?!" I shouted in frustration. Seems like I have a lack of my ethics this time. Heh. I really blow the pot off if I had enough of something.

"Does this landwhale have manners? Come on, Mitzi, let's make her viral!" an old woman sitting beside another one shouted.

"Sure, Gladys, she should burn in hell!" another one said as she took out her phone and snapped at me.

"Yes, Gertrude, you're right! Make this landwhale regret about it!" the other woman sitting at the other side told the other two.

Actually, I badly wanted to use profanities at them but seeing how I issued myself a personal challenge to not use any heavy profanities in a book, considering that I use way too much of these in my writing, I decided not to use them. Let them cry their heads off later, just with the case of Stilton succeeding in getting a petition to save Blue Dolphin Bay. Or that's how I think they feel after I read one of his books because he never mentioned them crying their heads off just like how I usually did if I got rekt by Geronimo. Yes, I do read Stilton's book, and in reality, I liked it a lot, and not wanting to burn his books. The only reason why I actually hate him at his own is that he's smexy; smart and sexy, in a way. You know that Geronimo doesn't have the abs and the assets to attract girls. And probably I am indoctrinated to hate him. Otherwise, there's not much reason why I hated him.

"Well? Congratulations for shaming yourself in front of people! Looks like you are going to be dead this time if the keyboard warriors ever make you viral," Simon told after observing the humiliation.

"Dude, who cares anyway? Let 'em shame me hard. I had been humiliated countless times."

"You got the audacity to tell me this?"

"You got the guts to ask me this?" I asked him the same question, because he's a kitten, just like G. Only the difference is that he came from Australia and he would be okay to be a dog on a leash and also act close to a ladyboy.

"You should play Piggy Boom then," he said, laying his head on his hands on the headrest.

"Dude, that game's for some old people who probably want to waste some time trolling people and holding this useless button while it all goes to some sort of wheelspin so that you get those mullah for no good reason."

"Whatever. I'm going to sleep."

So? I think Stilton ain't going to play this kind of game: he got trolled before playing this game. But that's not me. I think I should just forget about it for now: talking too much about one specific kind of game that doesn't offer as much fun as Pokemon Go would bore you way too much. I got to sleep a little later, thinking of when will we arrive at Rio.


	6. Chapter 6: Rio

12 hours later, we arrived in Rio de Janeiro. It was a long ride there, and I expect the two old keyboard warriors to make a big fuss about me. Come on, I will swing back harder than them later. And then, we were escorted to a hotel nearby us and Darren, our correspondent met us there. We first talked about the events that we will have to cover, and then we talked about some other things.

The next few days were filled with some drama. Some of the things that would be worth mentioning are:

\- Singapore won the first gold

\- The US placed first in the Olympics by 19 golds over Great Britain.

\- Malaysia came close to winning 3 golds but ended up having no gold (what?)

And yes... that's what I knew from the seven days there. But I guess there are some moments that I should cherish and here's some of my memories.

* * *

It was a night at one of the cafes there. I was just drinking some latte with Geronimo and Simon when the electric is out. Stilton and Simon freaked out, but that's because both of them are kittens.

"Ah!" Geronimo screamed like a little child in front of me.

"Dude, shut it! You're already 31 and you are still scared of the dark!" I shouted at him, forgotten of the fact that he is scared of the dark.

"I wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, Sally. I can't stand being in the dark," Simon told me.

So I decided that we should get out of here and get back to our hotel. Maybe there's still light there. The bad news was: the whole area is already in the dark.

"Great. The hotel is already dead dark. Now let's get back up to our room. Turn on the flashlight; we are taking the stairs," I told them. Shouldn't be too difficult, since our rooms are on the 2nd floor and the hotel is ain't that big, right?

I was wrong. It was a maze because the route to our rooms is hard to probably look at, thanks to the lack of emergency lighting and floor plan and dark floors. By the time we reached out rooms, it's already an hour. The electric is still out by then, so we sat together in Geronimo's room, telling jokes and stuff about ourselves. What I actually found out, was his birthday was rather ambiguous.

Some said that his birthday is on 28th of December. Then there's 14th February, 1st January, 29th December and August 16th. And then he revealed his actual birthday: 21st December. Not saying that his birthday predicts some sort of Mayan doomsday. It's ain't really true, and if it happens, then I won't be really here spitting profanities at ya. Not this time tho.

And then the electricity was back up. We were all relieved.

Another memory that I cherish the most was that towards the end of our stay there, which is the last day, Stilton and me saw two stray animals inside a box along with a note written in Spanish. It read:

"I couldn't care them anymore due to my old age. Please take them as you wish."

And another thing that I noticed is that they don't do well together; because it's a cat and a dog. And yes, the dog is a Shibe; I wanted it very badly! But Geronimo hated cats. Or more precisely, is afraid of cats.

"I am going to take this dog," I said.

"But I don't want the cat. I dislike them."

"Dude, you want to see the kitty die? You know that you are not a guy who would kill anyone, right?"

"And... right at that moment, you know who is- wait, no. It should be who are the paparazzi who went and took the shots at us. Yes, the three old women who probably have close to nothing to do other than making the gossips. For seriousness' sake, some people have watched the video called "LANDWHALE HAVE NO RESPECT FOR PEOPLE!" on Facebook. Yes, that the video they shot on the plane when I shout at Simon for playing that Pirate Kings rip-off.

"Well?" I asked them while putting my hands on the hips.

"Let's make them viral again by telling the world that they are faking their actions to gain publicity!" Gertrude shouted as they took their phones and tried to record a video. I took their phones and tossed it on the ground.

"Go tell yourselves that you all are seeking for attention by telling gossips!" I warned them before throwing their phones behind them.

"Hey, Stilton, let's go already. I had already settled the things with them."

* * *

And that does it for my trip there. I enjoyed the trip there amidst of those hectic moments. Maybe that's the coolest thing that I would ever do. But I really had a bad feeling right now. It's with my brother. He didn't answer any calls from me. I had called him a lot of times, even before I left Rio. Maybe he will be back after I reached back in New Mouse City? And like again in the plane, Simon is playing some of my most hated games. This time, it's Candy Crush Saga. The sound... I really had to take some Panadol with me if I ever have to hear it for an hour in a row. I thought of throwing his phone again or probably shout at him, but since I worry that the three attention seeking grandmas will be here, doing another shaming video to gain publicity, I decided not to do it. What I am going to do instead is keep hearing to my own music. Maybe this will make things better. After I arrive home, I think Sam should be back by then.


	7. Chapter 7: Forgotten

When I arrived back home with my new dog, Sam wasn't at home yet. Very strange. I called him a few times and he hasn't replied yet. Why wasn't he at home yet? Then, a phone call came to my phone.

"Yea, Sally here. What do you want?"

"Sally, it's your brother's friend here. He… fainted in exhaustion due to overworking."

"Wait, what? Had he already overworked? I'm heading to the hospital right now."

Once I arrived at the hospital, I met his friend first before heading to his ward. I went inside the ward all alone. I thought he would greet me. It was false instead. He was laying on the bed, staring at me in oblivion. I tried calling his name, but it was all no use. Another thing that I realize was that he was taciturn. He didn't utter any single word, nor even a sound.

Then that it's when it struck me: the only man who loves me the most is already gone. Sure, he might be still the same 32-year old dandy who took care of his appearance and his behavior. But he no longer remembers me. Probably not a bit. He couldn't accept me anymore as anyone. It was as if I was in a state of denial, resentment, and regret. Regretful of not listening to that wise gentleman, resentful of myself and in denial of identity.

A whole week has gone without any word from Sam. He stayed away from me longer than ever, that I sometimes hear him coming back home at 1 in the midnight. Sometimes I saw him drunk, unable to control his thoughts properly. He had never been this way before! He also started to be more aggressive in his thoughts as well. When I tried to talk to him, he threatened to hit me by putting the first in front of me. He even hit the dogs should they try to gain attention from him. I had never seen him smile at all since then, not even with Geronimo, his good friend. He told me that Sam constantly tried to avoid him. And when he tried to talk with him he told me that he only thought of avoiding me. But why?

And then, I finally realized it after I read the hidden message behind the letter he gave me a month ago in my room. It read:

"Sally, I am sorry if couldn't remember you any longer. I had enough of your memories. I felt like I wanted to leave the world right now without any trace. Please, don't remind me of you anymore. It hurts so much.

Your soon-to-be-forgotten brother,

Sam"

At that moment, I asked myself. Why did he write this? What does it even mean? How could he forget me? What was he even talking? I had enough of him not talking to me already. I shouted in the middle of the night, " **WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU EVEN THINKING OF SUICIDE AND FORGETTING ME, SAM RATMOUSEN?!** "

And then, I heard a soft crying sound from the next room. It was Sam. I peeked into his room and saw him laying on his bed, wailing over trying to forget me.

" _Please don't ever try to remind me of you... I don't want to hear your voice anymore... and please get away from my life...,_ " he said, hiding inside a blanket.

" **YOU CAN'T JUST FORGET ME THAT EASILY, SAM! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO FORGET ME, AREN'T YOU?!** "

" _ **Don't tell me that anymore!** I don't want to hear you talking with me anymore! Didn't you realise that I had enough of remembering the bad things about you?_"

"Couldn't you remember the good things we had together?"

" _Enough is enough... I want to leave this world already... please don't save me..._ "

"Forget about leaving me already. I love you a lot. Back when we were children, you would be the one who I could depend on and lean on. I don't want you to leave me."

" **ENOUGH OF THOSE WORDS! IF YOU COULDN'T UNDERSTAND ME, THEN I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER LIKE HOW YOUR PARENTS TREAT US!** "

"Why did you ask me to not talk? Why did you suddenly act this way? Didn't you know you are draining yourself?"

" _Please... don't let me unleash my inner demons..._ "

I took a photograph of him smiling from my pocket. Maybe he would be much comfortable that way. I opened the door, trying to show him the photograph. And then, a man who used to be self-aware of his appearance, now unkempt with his blue eyes being darker than usual, charged at me and put his hand on my neck, tightening his grip.

" ** _Can't you understand what I said? Now I will make you suffer!_** "

"Sam.. don't tell me that you want to kill me... I love...," I tried to tell him that I love him before he slapped me hard on the face.

" ** _D... D... DIE ALREADY! DON'T MAKE ME BELIEVE THAT I LOVE YOU!_** "

And then, he started to lose control of his limbs, feeling weak, trying to breathe. I worry that my brother is going to die of heart attack, so I call the paramedic. They arrive in 5 minutes, and after we arrived at the hospital with him, it took us about 3 hours for the doctors to check him before he went out and announce his condition to us.

"Your brother is right now in stable condition, but from the analysis and what you told us... he seemed to have a heart attack. And what we also found out is that he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder."

He had PTSD and MDD? Why didn't Sam tell me earlier? The whole night, I had difficulty sleeping. I dreamt of myself being abused by my parents and my brother wasn't with me. It was as though he didn't exist at all.

The next day, I went to his ward. Once I arrived at his ward, he started to ask me of his existence.

"Why am I here? Why didn't I die?"

"Sam, that's over. Why did you ask me this?"

"I thought I would.."

"Don't talk about this, please."

At evening, I came back. The doctor told me that Sam had a very bad childhood, and he said that he witnessed all the bad things of me being abused. He even told me that he had thought of taking his own life. I talked to him that night, and he said that he would go to San Mouscisco. He wanted to forget everything that would make him wanted to take his own life.

The next week, Sam told me that he had transferred his job to there. He said that he wished that he would forget all the bad memories of me and remember all the happy moments together. Before he left, he told this:

"Sally, thank you for accepting me as a brother. I honestly thought that you would call me for someone else just for the looks. But instead, you did treat me as a part of our family."

"So... you are going to forget me then?"

"No. I will remember you by heart."

As he left home, all the memories of him came back fresh to me. And also the sense of regret for ignoring him. But, oh well, now it's too late to cry. What I can do right now is to hope that Sam will have a good time there...


	8. Chapter 8: Too Late To Cry

The next Saturday, I went to Simon's house. He wanted to show me his new car. Wait, what, he bought a new car? Maybe he saved the money in the bank? Whatever it is, thought it would cool to see his new car.

"Yo, Simon, where are you?" I called.

"At the garage!" he said.

I went to his garage and saw his lavender purple R34. Yes, the Nissan GT-R R34- the coolest JDM car that anyone who wants in their life.

"How did you like the car?"

"I totally didn't expect that…. I thought that you would buy an MX-5."

"That's just a start to my hidden powers. Want more of these?"

I entered a room with him. Apparently, he did build a powerful battle station: a slang for a gaming PC, all by himself! That doesn't end there. He asked me to play CS:GO with him. What totally blew me was that his skills don't make me think that he is a wimpy guy like he usually would. His slave-like mentality is just an illusion and a ghost of the real him!

After that, I went out with Geronimo for a lunch. Thought it would be a good idea to maybe talk about stuff. Once I arrived there, I waited a few minutes before he arrived here.

"Hi, Sally. How's your life?" he asked as he sat on a chair towards me.

"Just decent. Only that it kinda felt…"

"Your brother?"

"Yea. He just transferred to San Mouscisco."

"But why?"

"He told me that he don't want to suffer from remembering my bad memories."

"Oh. That's why when I talked with him a few weeks ago, he only thought of forgetting you."

"That was sad when the only person who you would love hid his sadness until it is too late to even regret."

"Anyway….. how's your progress on Pokemon GO? Was it good?"

Thinking that I had enough of the game because it was way too boring, I replied, " I had enough of the game."

"So you mean you quit?"

"Yes."

"I also did. I can't tolerate the fact that people would go crazy for that game. I was forced to jump on the bandwagon once everyone asked me to play it."

"And I realize that jumping the hype bandwagon isn't really the wisest idea that I did. All because of that….. I lost the man who would stand by me all the times."

"You referring to?"

"My brother. I couldn't talk with him for three weeks. As a result of that… he really became a schizophrenic man. And now he left me. How good would it be if I never went around to catch those virtual monsters…. only to lose my only family member who I love…"

"It's already the past. Don't worry, you could do better next time you meet him again."

"I hope so. I don't want to lose him anymore."

Another week later, I went to the shooting range. That's the first place me and Sam went after he went back from London and it was Saturday. I started shooting the targets as if they are the bad memories of mine. And then, an octogenarian shouted. That was William Shortpaws, and probably he's ain't too happy with it.

"Who is the guy who my grandson is too close with? Come on out before I…"

"Yes, that's me. What, any matter with being friends with your grandson?"

"So that's you, your grandson's enemy being friends?"

"Hey, if you can't tolerate me just because my family is your enemy, then you should play with Scrooge McDuck. Or maybe it's better with you learning how to make friends."

"Such wise words from a hypocrite, huh? Listen up, don't meet.."

"What now? I can be frank with ya that I am a hypocrite at times. If you're ain't happy, let's sit down and settle the dispute with a shootout."

A few minutes later, I find myself in another bad situation. I lost the shootout, which means that I cannot meet with Geronimo any longer. Now what? He's already trying to break our friendship already?!

That Monday, I felt distressed. I couldn't focus on my work because of those many friendships broken, shattered in pieces. I saw Stilton's office by the binoculars: he wasn't inside. Instead, that fat old man is inside. Why didn't he go to work today? I went outside and one of the staffs scolded me, preconceiving the fact that I caused it. No matter how much I tried to explain to her that I didn't cause it, she was not convinced by it. That guy then burst out from the Gazette and asked me to get out from there immediately before he swings his golf club to my head. I can't imagine that he would so such thing so that I could be enemies with Stilton again.

After work, I went to Geronimo's house. He would be sad without me with him. As I get inside his room, he asked me in.

"Sally…. how was it today?" he asked, in a solemn voice.

"I felt very bad about it. It's all your gramp's fault for breaking us apart."

"I know. As much I loved him, I couldn't stand of him anymore."

"Yes, now my world is already starting to fade."

Never did know that this would be the last time I would see Stilton in his mild personality.

And then, William, who probably overheard us speaking, burst inside his room.

"You met with my grandson again?! Didn't I ask you to not meet him? This time, you are going to be dead," he said as he swung his club at my head.

But out of nowhere, Geronimo charged at him and got hit instead. He fell to the floor, unconscious. I started to cry on his body.

"You are going to be dead next time I saw you with him again!" he shouted as he left the room in agony.

I brought him to the hospital. He survived even with the deepest wound in his head, but he had amnesia, and he might as well lose his personality as well. Everything now seemed so lost without him. Nothing will be the same.

* * *

October 30th, 2016. I met Stilton again, but he wasn't him. Instead, he is more sadistic. He also seems to only know me and his grandfather.

"I really hope that my grandfather would pass away right now," he said.

"Didn't you remember yourself?" I asked as I showed him a picture of himself with me.

"That Geronimo Stilton is already dead."

"But why? You are him!"

"No, he no longer exists. And he no longer wishes to exist."

"But you said you wish that every day will be a good day!"

"You are that naive to not understand anything!"

"Please…. are you convincing yourself that you are dead?"

"I could only see myself standing on my own grave…."

"Stop telling yourself that you couldn't see anything!"

He stood up from the chair, warning me, "From now on, don't come and see me again! You can try and call me on the phone, but don't ever try to convince that I am still alive and I still love you!"

"Stilton….. fine… I had nothing to say."

He left me, letting me cry over losing the sense of love in me. But I knew there will be karma- and it won't be much of a nightmare. Soon William will eat his own medicine and will suffer. And I hope Stilton will come back alive on his own. That was at least what I really hope.

* * *

It was such a news today: The Daily Rat flourish while The Rodent's Gazette hit it rock hard. That's what I called it karma. You would thought will be all happy with it just because people think I am a rival to the Gazette and that today is 31st October, which is Halloween. Which you may think I would troll him all at once. But no, it was bittersweet. I felt bad for Geronimo because he really loved his job well a lot, but then I realized that the fat old man took over the newspaper for the time being. And then, a phone call from him arrived on my phone.

"Sally…. I felt so alive."

"Are you happy that your business hit the rock head first?"

"Not this. He had tasted his own medicine for separating us apart."

"What do you mean?"

"He raged at the news and now he wanted to kill you. That senile old man... I don't think he should deserve my respect as a grandson."

"Don't worry. Everything is now settled."

"So... you are still there?"

"Yes."

I started to think of him. I thought that he would lose his personality... but he didn't. Looks like it will be a new beginning for not just both of us; it's all of us.


	9. Chapter 9: Restart All Over

The next week, I met Geronimo again. His auburn hair isn't like how he would usually look like. The front was slicked back and he keeps his hair on the back shorter than how he usually is. That's totally different. Seriously. Other than that, his personality kinda changed as well. He is slightly bloodthirsty over anyone he really hates and probably he don't mind driving fast at all. Another thing that I also noticed is that he doesn't wear glasses. Just kidding, he did not wear it as much as he usually does. He probably started to wear contact lenses. Maybe the only time he would wear it is when he had to read something that is too small for his eyes to figure out.

"So, Sally, how's your day?" he asked me.

"Kinda fine."

"Oh. I guess you have seen your own video online, right?"

"What video?"

"The one that the three old attention seekers posted. You know what my grandfather said?"

"Wut?"

"He said you deserved it," he said in a slightly more serious tone.

That struck my emotions because his gramps probably hated me and my family a lot. Yes, my parents are the most notable example. They did some publicity stunts, and then some more sabotage and yet they are still there. And when I was forced to take over the Daily Rat…. well they asked me to do what they asked me to do: and that's why it's hard to even be nice to the employees that they think that I am a bad woman. Of course I appreciate my parents for bringing me up even they brought me up that bad. Too biased to my brother and called me an ungrateful cheap dog.

"It's just that they don't understand me. And I think that your gramps should at least learn how to make friends from enemies. And my parents."

"Your parents?"

"Yea, still had this bad feeling in my head. I would appreciate the fact that they forced me to threaten everyone. Glad that at least I got out from the purgatory. Can't stand getting another mental wreck on my shoulder. Oh, by the way, how's the cat?"

"It's was okay... I guess? It was hard to have a cat. You know that I dislike cats."

"So you bring it to the adoption center?"

"I didn't because I really need to see if I could care a cat properly. Sometimes it's much better if you try to overcome your fears. But it's just that hard to get along with it."

* * *

Another month has passed. During that one month, I decided to sell my AMG GTS. Of course you all will judge of why should I sell a luxury car like this, with the given fact I am extravagant. I don't really need it anyways, although I still preferably liked it. From that USD 125,000 I got from selling it, I used a fifth of my money to buy back my Ford Focus RS500. I haven't told you about my Ford Focus, and now it's the time to talk about it.

It's a pink colored hatchback that I used to drive a lot and I bought it in 2010. I loved this car a lot, because I bought it with my own money. It was rather expensive, and I think I'm proud with it. That was not until a few years back that there a car that looks much sportier than my Focus, at a lower price. You know what I did: I sold it. At the time I sold my Mercedes, the car seller tells me that my car is still there, unsold. Wow. I thought some other people would buy this car just because it's rare: only 500 are ever produced. Maybe they hated the color, and it's a little too gender-biased.

Speaking of what month was it right now, it was already December, which is already winter. Christmas is coming by in a few weeks time and I worry if my brother is not going to come home for Christmas. Yes, he had been away from our family for the past five years even during the festival. Kinda disrespectful although I know he didn't want to get another kind of bad ending from our parents, right? I mean, even during Christmas, it's was a hard time keeping myself happy with my parents around. One mistake with the preparation and get berated like how I used to berate Simon no matter how well he did. And every year, my Christmas gift was an unwanted spanking or just plain nothing. Even if we're a million dollars rich, right? And usually Sam would be given what he wanted. Not to forget that my parents spend everything else on what they want. Doesn't make sense just because I am adopted, right? It is not Christmas if you are not happy that day, and admit it, it used to be the worst day I would ever celebrated thanks to the two horrible person.

But I think that's over for now. They are behind the bars for a few years and the outcome seems brought for me. But I couldn't celebrate Christmas without them. I mean, although I hated them, I loved them as well. And then, a phone call came to my cellphone. It was my brother.

"Hey, it's your sister here. What do you want?"

"Sally, I am coming home for Christmas."

"You kidding me? I thought you wouldn't be home because of work or you wanted get out from our parents."

"I am not lying to you. I will be home for Christmas. You know we wanted to have the best Christmas ever."

And that was when I feel a little happier. He will be celebrating Christmas with me and there, I start planning what should I do. Maybe I will visit my parents at the prison first, and probably I will go and celebrate with everyone else. I swear, this Christmas will never be the same, and I think it would be much better than any other years.


	10. Chapter 10: Go Love Yourself

A few days prior to Christmas, Sam arrived at my home. I felt happy that I get to meet him again because like I said, I love him. We prepared for our celebration as meticulous as we could because we are going to celebrate the best Christmas we could ever have in a while.

* * *

On Christmas, we started out by visiting our parents in the prison. What we thought was that maybe we will apologize to them if we do 'em wrong and vice versa. What we got instead was a rude response. They even told us that they could have given away Sam and not adopting me. All in a single package of that colorful language. You know what I mean, and don't need to ask me what are these. Either way, I apologized to them for that because we were just a little disrespectful. Yes, like what my friend Geronimo said, no one's perfect.

After that, we visited our friends. It was a great experience, and I felt that Christmas is better for both of us, but again, the bad taste of guilt came to me and probably Sam; maybe he was afraid to celebrate Christmas because of that? After all, he had a bad case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But again, this is the best Christmas I could ever celebrate. You know I love my brother a lot and I don't want him to leave me.

* * *

New Year has already passed since then. I tried to appreciate and cherish the moment more than I ever had. If before that, I took him for granted, this time, I had to learn to appreciate more of my life. After all, he had to go back to work a few days later.

And then, the next thing I should do comes to me. I had to learn to love myself as well. Maybe because I didn't love myself enough, cause the veins of PTSD to show in him? That's all I know.

Then again, everything seems clear to me.

* * *

 **Sorry for the hiatus on the chapter; I really had a very severe lack of idea that I had to end this one a little too early. Anyways, Merry Christmas in advance to all of your readers. And see ya in the next fanfic!**


End file.
